te aru Japanese Grammar: Why 窓が開けてある Means Someone Did It (vs 開いている)

te aru Japanese grammar, explained slowly from one window. 窓が開いている tells you the window is open. 窓が開けてある tells you more: someone opened it, on purpose, and it's still open. Search terms: te aru japanese grammar / japanese te aru vs te iru / japanese transitive verbs The form: 〜が + the te-form of the verb for doing it + ある (開ける → 開けてある, つける → つけてある, 閉める → 閉めてある, 消す → 消してある). So you don't hear 開いてある. It never says who did it. ミカが窓が開けてある doesn't work; to name the person, use another sentence, for example ミカが窓を開けておいた. That's why it isn't the English passive: 窓がミカによって開けられている is fine, 窓がミカによって開けてある is not. If nobody did it (the wind opened the door), only 開いている fits. 0:00 Which one means she did it on purpose? 0:14 What てある tells you 1:12 Mika's phone call 1:55 The form: the verb for doing it + ある 2:19 Not from the verb that just happens 2:33 Where ある comes from 3:00 On signs and in shops 3:21 You can't say who (not the English passive) 4:26 Two mix-ups 4:54 When no one did it 5:39 ておく before, てある after 6:02 Five quick checks 6:53 One more time The verb pairs behind this (開く・開ける, つく・つける): tsuku vs tsukeru, aku vs akeru:    • tsuku vs tsukeru, aku vs akeru: Japanese V...   The voices in this video are AI-generated (Gemini TTS). The script and every Japanese line were checked by our team. Department of Japanese. One habit of Japanese, taken all the way down. If a line here left you unsure, ask in the comments.